SO I ran across this site called Kangaroo Sacs they sell “love sacs” and by buddy said “wouldn’t it be soo cool to put one of those in the back of your sti or wrx ? ” I thought that it seemed like a fun idea. But you have to take out your back seats to accomplish it.
Anyhow go check it out and see what you think. Either way it could make for a nice Christmas gift.
Two of Japan’s giants are set for a showdown. Mitsubishi and Subaru are unleashing hardcore versions of their four-wheel-drive flagships.
Feast your eyes on the Lancer Evolution X MR and Impreza WRX STi Spec C. The Evo X MR – the badge stands for Mitsubishi Racing – gets a host of cosmetic upgrades, with extra vents and air intakes on the nose to improve cooling. There’s also a revised rear wing and side skirts, plus black alloys. The MR packs around 305bhp – that’s 20bhp more than the entry-level Evo X – which puts it on a par with the standard Impreza WRX STi.
Its 2.0-litre turbocharged direct-injection engine has been reworked to be more responsive at high revs, while still delivering plenty of low-down torque. This translates into a 0-60mph time of less than five seconds.
Although Mitsubishi offers more powerful versions of the Evo X in the UK in the shape of the FQ-330 and FQ-360, they’re only available with a five-speed manual gearbox. The MR comes with an uprated version of the firm’s SST twin-clutch transmission, which means it’s the most powerful paddleshift-equipped Evo X on sale. Mitsubishi’s engineers have also stiffened the bodyshell further in a bid to deliver even sharper handling.
But not to be outdone, Subaru has gone to town on the Impreza WRX STi. The Spec C edition has a mildly tweaked bodykit, including a rally-inspired roof scoop and the brand’s trademark gold alloy wheels. Most importantly, though, it has lost a lot of weight. As with previous generations of the Spec C, the newcomer gets a lightweight roof, aluminium boot, compact 12V battery, thinner glass and a smaller fuel tank. The revisions shed around 70kg from the STi’s kerbweight, so the Spec C tips the scales at 1,400kg.
Power upgrades for the 296bhp 2.5-litre turbocharged flat-four are expected to be minimal, but when combined with the weight reductions, the Impreza should rival the Evo X MR for performance. Both models are due to hit Japanese showrooms later this year. Official imports have yet to be confirmed, although grey importers are likely to bring the pair to the UK.
Meanwhile, Subaru is also preparing a super-fast Legacy, badged the S402. It will have the same engine as the Impreza STi, as well as a new six-speed gearbox and stiffer suspension. Topping things off is a racy interior with sports seats. The S402 should also be available via grey importers.
I’m very sorry I have not been updating and writing in awhile. There have been alot of things going on out there. With the start of the WRC season to the release of the 08 sti, and all the reviews that have followed. I’ll be updating the theme quite soon, so stay tuned for that ! Its a good one too !
There has been many reviews since the release of the 2008 sti, and there will be more to come I’m sure. But not all reviews are the same, some are more fun to read or watch than others. The title of these reviews also comes into play when reviewing reviews. The review that would win the “Most FUN” award would easily go to Edmunds.com for compaing the Ford Mustang Shelby GT vs. the 2008 Subaru Sti.
Boost vs. Brawn
Source: Edmunds.ComBy Josh Jacquot, Photos by: Scott Jacobs & Kurt NiebuhrLook no further than the hood scoops on the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI and 2007 Ford Shelby GT to find the fundamental difference in their personalities. It’s here that both cars’ sense of purpose and ability is displayed prominently and publicly as a statement of their true character.Integrated into the STI’s hood is an elegant and somewhat menacing scoop that feeds air through the engine’s intercooler. It’s a functional and defining detail on all boosted Subarus and it enhances the car’s already purposeful demeanor.On the Shelby’s hood lies a nonfunctional remnant of days gone by. Days when bias-ply tires were making the smoke. Days when performance was measured by the number of barrels in your carburetor. Days when cars were built with the delicate precision of dynamite. From the driver seat, we could see underneath the Mustang’s hood scoop to the road ahead, a constant reminder that it’s phony and just plain disappointing on a car that bears the name of such a legend.
Same Price Tag, Different State of Mind
So why compare two cars whose target customers are so different? Well, first of all, they cost the same. The STI is slightly pricier at $39,440, only marginally more than the $39,180 Shelby. With as-tested prices within $300 of each other, the reality of cross-shopping these two on price alone isn’t an arguable point.We’d argue that there’s another common mission between the two: putting a smile on their owners’ faces. Really, they’re both about having fun. Whether that fun means late-night powerslides in the Wal-Mart parking lot or Sunday morning pace-note sessions up your local canyon road, depends only on your state of mind.Plus, these two machines are remarkably similar in the power department. The STI’s 2.5-liter turbocharged flat-4 is rated at 305 horsepower and 290 pound-feet of torque. The Shelby’s 4.6-liter V8 is stronger than that, but not by much. It generates 319 hp and 330 lb-ft of torque, slightly more than a standard Mustang thanks to a more efficient exhaust system, cold air intake and a revised engine calibration (which mandates premium fuel). A six-speed manual transmission puts the STI’s power to all four wheels, while a five-speed manual drives the Shelby’s rears.
Doughnuts and Horseplay
Plant your right foot to the Shelby’s floorboard and you’re rewarded with an engine note so patriotic you’d swear Francis Scott Key tuned the car’s dual exhaust. It’s a deep, powerful sound that perfectly accompanies the thrust that comes with it. It’ll take $800 in custom exhaust to get this much aural reward from the STI and even then it will only be pleasing if you happen to like the off-kilter thrum of a flat-4.What’s more, a dip of the clutch and jab at the throttle is a sure key to the best powerslides this side of a GT500. The Shelby GT’s balance on smooth surfaces is good and the information it offers a driver through its chassis is encouraging enough that we found ourselves with ample confidence to drive it very hard. Its steering is light but responsive and communicative enough to inspire reasonable confidence. There are few rewards in life greater than executing a perfect, tire-smoking powerslide, gathering it up and pulling up confidently at the next signal. This happens often in the Shelby GT. It’s the kind of fun you can’t have in any Subaru. But like mullets and mopeds, it’s a bit of a novelty.If outright speed is your jones, you should buy the STI. This latest version of Subaru’s flagship is silly fast on any surface you choose. It eats midcorner bumps like a turbodiesel wood chipper sucking down a sapling. It treats road irregularities, gravel and damp surfaces with the same indifference the Shelby does burnouts — they’re all in a day’s work.Very few cars sold today will match the STI’s midcorner speed. Nor will they exercise its mind-bending grip on the tarmac with such relaxed confidence. Its electronically controlled center differential and front and rear mechanical limited-slip differentials twist any road into submission.The staggering speed comes from perfectly managing this combination of long-travel suspension, substantial power and Velcro-like grip. Part of that management strategy includes the three-way SI-Drive throttle switch on the console that allows the driver to adjust throttle response between pointlessly slow and just right. There are also nine settings for the center differential — three auto and six manual — which is too many, but testifies to the amount of control a driver has in this car. Bottom line: There’s not a Mustang made that will match it on any real road.
Inside and Out
Unless a few Shelby badges and a high-effort Hurst shifter are your idea of interior upgrades, you won’t notice much difference between the office of a Shelby GT and a standard Mustang. There are the same slick, flat seats, built-to-cost Ford switchgear and materials and presentation we’ve come to accept at the standard Mustang’s $25,000 cost of entry. But this car adds a 55 percent premium, which isn’t reflected in its interior.The STI provides the expected bump in quality. From its Alcantara suede-and-leather-covered seats to its double stitching, to new plastics, there’s a very different feel inside an STI than there is in a WRX. Too bad its six-speed tranny isn’t as quick-shifting or precise as we’d expect given its direct-shift configuration, and its seats are too wide to be as supportive as we’d like. Still, they’re better than the Mustang’s wide, flat chairs.There’s also an automatic climate control system where the Shelby has only fan speed, temperature and mode dials. Our STI was fitted with the optional navigation system, which more than compensates for the minimal price difference between the two.Outside, neither car will be mistaken for its lesser counterpart. Most obvious are the STI’s huge fenders. Bulging at every opportunity, the new shape has the same polarizing effect on Subaru enthusiasts as did the new WRX. We think the hatchback shape expands its appeal to buyers who might have previously overlooked it as too boy racerish. But love it or hate it, you’re not going to overlook it.The Shelby offers equally juiced-up exterior styling. In 2007 it was only available in black or white but will be produced in Vista Blue with the same silver stripes for the 2008 model year. There’s a unique front fascia, lower airdam and side scoops plus the not-a-hood scoop. Eighteen-inch Torque Thrust look-alike wheels are at all four corners. The wheels, scoops and stripes, however faux-retro, are striking in combination with the GT’s black paint.
Living Life 13 Seconds at a Time
Predictably, the Shelby is 157 pounds heavier than the STI (3,508 vs. 3,351 pounds), which didn’t help its case in our acceleration tests.All-wheel grip and lots of grunt give the less powerful Subaru the ability to outrun the Shelby out of the hole — an advantage it holds all the way to the end of the quarter-mile. With an admittedly abusive launch, our STI hit 60 in 4.8 seconds — 0.4 second quicker than the Shelby.Breaking the traps in 13.3 seconds, the Subaru’s lead remains the same. Pulling hard, the Shelby gets there in 13.7 seconds, and has a 1.5-mph advantage in trap speed (103.9 mph vs.102.4 mph).If drag racing is your thing, the Mustang is your car. Slap on some drag radials and it’ll likely run with the STI. Plus, it feels a hell of a lot less likely to self-destruct during a day of redline launches. Subarus have always proven durable during our testing, but the physical load on the STI’s drivetrain during a hard launch is unquestionably violent.Brakes are another area where the hardware and engineering advantage of the Japanese car is apparent. Stopping from 60 in only 106 feet, the STI is in a different league than the Shelby, which requires 126 feet.Look closely at the hardware and the Subaru’s value and performance are clear. The STI is fitted with 13.0-inch rotors and four-piston Brembo calipers up front, while the Mustang makes due with 11.5-inch rotors and two-piston calipers. Perhaps an even greater factor in our single-stop test are each car’s tires. The lighter STI’s 245/40R18 Dunlop SP Sport 600 summer tires are far stickier than the Shelby’s 235/50ZR18 BFGoodrich g-Force KDWS all-season tires.
Straightening the Curves, Flattening the Hills
Those stickier tires also helped the STI embarrass the Shelby in the slalom. At 72.0 mph this is the fastest Subaru we’ve ever tested. Despite its Ford Racing handling package, which is lower and more heavily damped than a stock Mustang, the Shelby only managed 68.0 mph — exactly the same speed as Ford’s GT500. Unfortunately, the lower suspension lacks both travel and compliance, giving the GT a wagonlike ride.Around the skid pad, however, the Shelby was surprisingly close, circling at 0.88g vs. the STI’s 0.90g. It once again demonstrated the always-engaging ability to drive in never-ending sideways circles with a white haze pouring off its rear tires. Did we mention that this is fun? Or that it can’t be done in a Subaru?More valuable than our instrumented handling data is each car’s real-world behavior. It’s here that the Subaru’s abilities are dramatically greater than the Shelby’s. Its ride is compliant but controlled — a near-perfect compromise. In the real world where there are bumps, off-camber roads and gravel, there’s simply no contest. On one winding California road we reached the Mustang’s limits (and its bump stops) before the STI’s driver even knew we were trying to keep up.
The Easy Winner
Unpack the data and the driving impressions and the results are overwhelmingly clear. In fact, out of the 46 categories scored in this test, the STI gave up only two to the Shelby: as-tested price and quarter-mile trap speed. It tied or won every single category in our 27-point evaluation, dominated when it came to feature content and was every editor’s personal and recommended pick. That’s kicking some major ass.Of course this doesn’t tell the whole story. The Shelby will put a grin on your face as quickly as it will autograph the tarmac in your local Wal-Mart parking lot. This, while great fun, is of limited value, which is why the Subaru wins. It’s quicker in virtually every test and unquestionably quicker over any road. It rides and handles better and its interior is light-years ahead of the Shelby.The takeaway is simple. If you want a driver’s car, one that’s as capable in a straight line as it is on virtually any road, the STI is your car.There is one more little thing: Its hood scoop actually works.
The Subaru WRX has always been a favourite of performance enthusiasts. Its combination of giant-killing performance, numerous World Rally titles and a relatively cheap price tag quickly earned it cult status around the world, and it also made it a halo model for the rest of Subaru’s lineup. Today we have two variants of the WRX, the standard model and the high-performance WRX STI, but soon there could be a third model positioned somewhere in between them.
The new STI version is priced higher than the model it replaces, which means the price gap between the flagship model and the regular WRX (whose price didn’t change with the model update) is now greater than ever. This has officials thinking about launching a third mid-spec version. “There is the potential to do that [fill the price gap] and while we have looked at it there’s not going to be one this year,” Subaru Australia exec Nick Senior told Drive. “There is the potential to do one in 2009 and there’s also factory limited editions in the future as well.”
There have been numerous special edition versions of the WRX over the years, the most popular being the ‘Club Spec’ models and the legendary ‘22B’ model. These cars featured several performance mods and were packed with extra features but were only available in limited numbers. Senior hinted at the possibility of a stripped-out track version but wasn’t willing to confirm its existence.
Perrin-Motorsports.com for the last few years has be a very big supporter of the World Rally Championships, has being a supporter of the WRC they also would aid in others supporting the WRC by hosting the different rallies taking place during the season. This is of great benefit to those in the United States of America who don’t get the EURO channel and there for can’t watch the WRC.Well as “they” say nothing in this world is free, and this particular saying is taking its effect on Perrin-Motorsports.com. To host large files like the WRC stages comes with a big price, and Perrin-Motorsports has been paying this hosting bill out there own pocket. So we as a race loving community should be supporting Perrin-Motosports for all the work they do. And if you have downloaded anything from their site, you particularly should be supportive. They are at a cross-roads now because of a small 650.00 dollar bill from there hosting company. So Perrin-motosports is asking for donations to be able to cover the bill and keep the WRC coverage coming. Please show you support for them and donate.Every little bit helps people ! http://www.perrin-motorsports.com/wrc.html
Please keep in mind this list was compiled to satisfy my own curiosity of 08 STI tuning results to date.
As mentioned above, comparing different cars/dynos/mods/tunes/conditions is ONLY A SMALL PART OF THE STORY… fun to look at tho.
A new documentary about the suppression of the theory of intelligent design by Ben Stein (the clear eyes guy, and teacher from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) )
Biography: Ben Stein
Ben Stein (Benjamin J. Stein) was born November 25, 1944 in Washington, D.C., (He is the son of the economist and writer Herbert Stein) grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and attended Montgomery Blair High School. He graduated from Columbia University in 1966 with honors in economics. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1970 as valedictorian of his class by election of his classmates. He helped to found the Journal of Law and Social Policy while at Yale. He has worked as a poverty lawyer in New Haven and Washington, D.C., a trial lawyer in the field of trade regulation at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., a university adjunct at American University in Washington, D.C., at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. At American U., he taught about the political and social content of mass culture. He taught the same subject at UCSC, as well as about political and civil rights under the Constitution. At Pepperdine, he has taught about libel law and about securities law and ethical issues since 1986.In 1973 and 1974, he was a speechwriter and lawyer for Richard Nixon at The White House and then for Gerald Ford. (He did NOT write the line, “I am not a crook.”) He has been a columnist and editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal, a syndicated columnist for The Los Angeles Herald Examiner (R.I.P.) and King Features Syndicate, and a frequent contributor to Barrons, where his articles about the ethics of management buyouts and issues of fraud in the Milken Drexel junk bond scheme drew major national attention. He has been a regular columnist for Los Angeles Magazine, New York Magazine, E! Online, and most of all, has written a lengthy diary for ten years for The American Spectator. He also writes frequently for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, op. ed. and almost every other imaginable magazine.He has written and published sixteen books, seven novels, largely about life in Los Angeles, and nine nonfiction books, about finance and about ethical and social issue in finance, and also about the political and social content of mass culture. He has done pioneering work in uncovering the concealed messages of TV and in explaining how TV and movies get made. His titles include A License to Steal, Michael Milken and the Conspiracy to Bilk the Nation, The View From Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Days, Hollywood Nights, DREEMZ, Financial Passages, and Ludes. His most recent book is the best selling humor self help book, How To Ruin Your Life. He has also been a longtime screenwriter, writing, among many other scripts (most of which were unmade) the first draft of The Boost, a movie based on Ludes, and the outlines of the lengthy miniseries Amerika, and the acclaimed Murder in Mississippi. He was one of the creators of the well-regarded comedy, Fernwood Tonight.He is also an extremely well known actor in movies, TV, and commercials. His part of the boring teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was recently ranked as one of the fifty most famous scenes in American film. From 1997 to 2002, he was the host of the Comedy Central quiz show, “Win Ben Stein’s Money.” The show has won seven Emmys. He appears regularly on the Fox News Channel talking about finance.He lives with his wife, Alexandra Denman (former lawyer,) his son, Tommy, four cats and two large dogs in Beverly Hills.
A quick guide to viewing the Website
The following links will help you understand the film at a glance. Included here are individual page links…or you can navigate the site directly from the Home Page. But be sure that you visit each of the six pages below, in order to get a feel for the project!
Go to the Home Page HYPERLINK “http://www.expelledthemovie.com” www.expelledthemovie.com watch the “Bad to the Bone” teaser trailer. Then enter the site.
From the Home Page…start with the Trailer…a clip from Ben Stein speaking to a college audience. It gives you an indication of the controversy surrounding the issues that the film addresses.
Then go to the Movie Overview…a short synopsis of the film.
Movie Overview HYPERLINK “http://www.expelledthemovie.com/movie_overview.php” http://www.expelledthemovie.com/movie_overview.php
Next…go to the blog, and scroll down the page to Ben Stein’s Introductory Blog…nearly eighteen hundred people have responded already, since the site first launched August 22, 2007. Remember…the “responses” are all about a film that no one has even seen yet….so take them with a grain of salt!
The Blog HYPERLINK “http://www.expelledthemovie.com/blog/” http://www.expelledthemovie.com/blog/
Then…go to the News page. The film made the front page of the New York Times on September 27, 2007. A link to the story is the top article.
Last, but not least…go to Big Science Academy parody Yearbook, and follow the links to the Class Officers, etcetera. The Playground is just that…a place on the site where the issues are treated with a decidedly tongue-in-cheek fashion.
Big Science Academy HYPERLINK “http://www.expelledthemovie.com/bigscienceacademy.php” http://www.expelledthemovie.com/bigscienceacademy.php
Home
